Robert mercer



(No Model.)

R. MERGER. STAND FOR PRINTERS GASES.

Patented Oct. 13,1891.

WITNESSES: W/M.

A TTOHNE rs m: now: an" :02. mammmu, o. c.

. UNITED STATES-PATENT OFFICE.

- stand itself raised or lowered to suit composi- ROBERT'MERO'ER, OF ST.JOHNS, NEWFOUNDLAND.-

STAND FOR PRINTERS CASES.

SPECIFICATIIEON forming part of Letters ratent No. 461,360, datedOctober 13, 1891.

Application filed June 25, 1891. Serial Nd 397,505. (No model.) V

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, ROBERT MERCER, of St. J ohns, Newfoundiand, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Stands for Printers Cases, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in stands or supports forprinters cases, and has for its object to provide a stand capable ofbeing folded up to occupy a minimum of space when not in use, and to soconstruct the stand that the cases carried thereby may be adjusted Q toany desired angle or inclination and the tors when seated or standing orcompositors of different heights.

Another object of the invention is' to provide a stand of simple,durable, and economic construction and to so construct the base of thestand that it will be exceedingly firm when placed in a position tosustain cases.

The invention consists in the novel con-' struction and combination ofthe several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointedout in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar figures and letters of refer-'section through a stand opened out for use and type-cases supported bythe stand. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a portion of the casesupportingrail, illustrating a modification in the construction thereof; and Fig.5 is a section through a portion of the front adjusting mechanism of thestand.

The stand is provided with two legsnamely, a front leg A and a rear legBthe front leg being shorter than the rear leg. Each leg comprisestwomembers 10 and 11, which members are connected near their lower endsby rods 12, provided near their extremities with shoulders or attachedflanges 13, between which flanges a roller 14 is loosely mounted uponeach of the rods. The rods 12 are secured. in bracket-like offsets 15,produced upon the outer faces of the legs, and each member of a leg isenlarged at its central portion, as illustrated at a, and its lowerextremity is beveled.

One leg is adapted to fold in the other, and the front leg is usuallythe inner one of the two. The members ofthe front leg A are connected atthe top by a cross-bar 16, and the members of the rear leg near theirupper ends are likewise connected by across-bar 17, the upper ends ofthe members of the rear leg being forwardly curved, as illustrated at b.The forwardly-curved ends of the rear legs are provided With'a series ofapertures 18, and the central enlarged portion a of each leg member islikewise provided with a series of apertures 19,said apertures beingpreferably longitudinally ar ranged. The upper cross-bar 17 of the rearleg is also preferably braced by a truss 20, secured to the members ofthe leg. The legs are pivotally connected by passing through theapertures 19 of their members bolts 21, or the equivalents thereof, thesaid bolts being usually'provided with suitable thumbnuts. When the legshave been pivotally united and are placed ina position to support thecase, they resemble inside elevation the letter X. The front cross-bar17 of the rear leg is considerably longer than the correspondingcross-bar of the front leg, as best shown in Fig. 1. i

In the cross-bar 16 of the front leg, at or near its ends, verticalchannels or apertures 22 are produced, and the upper surface of thecross-bar is also preferably provided with a series of wear-plates 23,which Wear-plates being in vertical alignment, and the WttliSOftheapertures in the Wear-plates are threaded to receive adjnsting-screws 24:, preferably provided at their lower ends with heads25. The

upper ends of the adj usting-screws are swiveled in a case-supportingrail 26, said rail being preferably madeof metal, and the railat itsextremities has integral therewith or attached thereto pins 27, saidpins being adapted to enter the apertures or channels 22 in the endportions of the said cross-bar 16, as

best shown in Fig. 5, and by this means the rail 26, as it is adjustedvertically to raise or lower a case, is guided in its movements.

The legs are limited in their outward or opening movement by links 28,preferably two in number and pivotally connected, the outer end of onelink being attached to the under face of the cross-bar 16 of the frontleg, at or near the center thereof, and the outer end of the other linkis secured to the under face of the cross-bar 17 of the rear leg, as isshown in Figs. 1 and 3. XVhen the legs are folded together, they areheld in their folded position by hooks 29, located upon one leg,-engaging with staples or eyebolts 30, placed upon any convenient portionof the structure.

In order that the stand when placed in position for use may beexceedingly strong and steady the members of the legs are curved outwardor sidewise from their pivotal points,- each member of a leg beingcurved in an opposite direction, as is best shown in Fig. 1. Thus thearea covered by the base of the stand is much greater than that coveredby its top. A

A case-supporting frame 0 is located at the top of the stand. This framecomprises two side bars 31, which side bars are pivoted at their rearends to the curved upper extremities of the rear leg members. Theconnection is an adjustable one, as the side beams or bars of thecase-supporting frame are providedwith a series of apertures 32, and thepivotal connection is effected by passing bolts 33, or the equivalentsthereof, through apertures 18 in the rear leg and through the apertures32 in the frame.

The side bars or beams 31 of the case-supporting frame are-connected bya front rail 34, the said rail being somewhat T-shaped' incross-section, thus producing a rib at the top and bottom of the frame.Each side bar of the case-supporting frame is provided with two inclinedplanes 35 and 36, separated by a shoulder 37. The upper inclined planes35 of the frame are adapted to receive the upper type-case D, whichrests at its lower end against the shoulder 37, the lower-inclinedplanes 36 being adapted to receive the lower type-case D, which at itslower end bears against the upper rib of the front rail 34 of the frame.The front rail 34.0f the frame is adapted to rest upon the adjustablesupporting-rail 26 of the front leg, and guide projections 38 arehorizontally produced upon the upper edge of the frame side bars 31, thesaid guide projections extending horizontally inward. Either the upperor the lower case may be adjusted in a manner to incline it more or lessby constructing the side beams or bars 31 of the frame 0 inpivotally-connectedsections 39 and 40, as shown in Fig. 4, in whichevent the opposing end surfaces of the frame-sections are beveled, andan adj usting-screw 41 is held to turn in athreaded aperture produced inone section--the sect-ion 40, for instancethe said screw being swiveledin the opposed section 39, and one section is raised or lowered bymanipulating the screw 41.

In operation, when the stand is set up, two type-cases may be supportedthereby, these cases constituting the working cases, and spare cases maybe supported by the rollers 14:. When the stand is not in use, it iscompactly folded to occupy but a minimum of space by carrrying one legwithin the other, as shown in Fi 1,whereupon, as the forward end of thecase-supporting frame 0 is unattached to the front leg, when the frontleg is folded back to the rear legthe case-supporting frame will dropperpendicularly downward, and all the parts may be supportedin theirfolded position by causing the hooks 29 of the legs to enter staples30upon the frame.

It is evident that the stand may be adj usted as to height by changingthe pivot-bolts 21 from the center to the upper or the lower of theapertures 19, and that the rear portion of the frame 0 may be likewiseadjusted by moving its pivot-bolts 33 from the center to the upper orlower one of the apertures 18 and 32.

This stand is exceedingly simple, durable, and strong and presents nooffsets likely to interfere with a compositor while at work or whilepassing by the stand, and the area of the base is so calculated withrespect to the area of the top that the cases,'when in position,completely orpractically cover the frame.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. In a type-case-supporting stand, the combination,with pivoted folding legs and a vertically-adjustable rail carried byone of the legs, of a frame pivoted to the rear leg and adapted to restupon the rail of the front leg, the upper face of the frame beingprovided with inclined planes, as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a stand for supporting type-cases, the combination, with adjust-able pivoted legs adapted to fold one into the other, the front legbeing provided at its upper end with a Vertically-adjustable rail, oflinksconnecting the two legs, a frame adjustably and pivotally connectedto the upper end of the rear leg and resting upon the adjusting-rail ofthe front leg, the said frame having inclined planes of differentdegrees of inclination produced in its up'perface and adapted to receivetype-cases, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination, with legspivotally and adj ustably connected and adapted to fold one in closeproximity to the other, the lower portions of the legs being laterallyinclined in opposite directions, rods connecting the members of the legsnear their upper ends, rollers mounted upon said rods, a vertically-adjustable rail located at the upper portion of the front leg, and linksconnecting the two legs near their upper ends, of a frame adjustably andpivotally connected with the upper extremities of the rear leg members,resting at its forward end upon the adjustable rail of the front leg,the said frame having inclined surfaces produced in its upper faceadapted to receive type cases and provided with forwardly-extendingguide projections, as and for the purpose specified.

' ROBERT MERCER. Witnesses:

W. J. HERDER, W. H. GOODLAND.

